Feb. 17, 2014
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Dr. Eric Barron. / Phil Coale, AP

by Mary Beth Marklein @mbmarklein, USA TODAY

by Mary Beth Marklein @mbmarklein, USA TODAY

Florida State University president Eric Barron will take over as the head of Pennsylvania State University in May, Penn State's trustees announced Monday.

Barron, 62, a former Penn State professor and dean, will succeed Rodney Erickson, who replaced Graham Spanier in 2011 after a child sexual abuse scandal rocked the campus. Former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky is serving a 30- to 60-year state prison sentence after being convicted in 2012 of 45 counts of the sexual abuse of 10 boys. Spanier, who was forced out of the presidency, was charged in an alleged cover-up. A trial date for Spanier and two other former administrators who were accused of a criminal cover-up has not been scheduled. Erickson plans to retire in June.

In Barron, Penn State is getting an administrator who values athletic success on campus. "I really want successful athletic programs because it's the front door. It's absolutely the front door to your university," he told USA TODAY last summer.

Barron also recently faced a college football scandal in Florida. Last November, a year-old sexual assault complaint by a Florida State student against Heisman-winning quarterback Jameis Winston became public and was passed along by Tallahassee police to the Florida state attorney's office for a full investigation. A Florida State student claimed Winston raped her. Winston's attorney has said the sex was consensual. Prosecutors did not find enough evidence to charge him with a crime, and the case was closed Dec. 5, two days before the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

At the time, Barron issued a statement urging "a respect for the principle of due process." At a press conference Monday, he repeated that call. "It's incredibly important ... that we let the police do their jobs and the District Attorney do their jobs, and if it gets to that point, to have the courts do their job."

When asked how the university should acknowledge the role of then-head football coach Joe Paterno in the scandal, Barron said, "Whatever we do, we have to make sure that we do it with a high sense of dignity and honor, and sometimes that takes time." Paterno also was forced out of his job and died in 2012.

Barron, whose expertise is in climate, environmental change and oceanography, worked at Penn State for 20 years, including four as dean of its College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. He left Penn State in 2006 to join the University of Texas-Austin. He has been president of Florida State since 2010.

Trustees unanimously approved Barron's appointment, whose experience with Penn State also was welcomed by a group of alumni, students and community members who have been critical of the board in recent years.

"It's encouraging to see the selection of an individual with ties to Penn State. This suggests that Dr. Barron appreciates the exceptional culture that has been a hallmark of our university for decades," Maribeth Schmidt, Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship spokesperson, told the student newspaper, the Daily Collegian, via e-mail.

Contributing: Associated Press

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